So I have finally made plans to go visit my friend in California for the first time, I'll be flying out there, with my board, its a 6' fish, wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to which board bag to buy or suggestions on how to pack the board in the bag (foam, any wrapping?) Not looking to spend more then $150 on the board bag though, any suggestions will help, thanks!
http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/show...board-for-a-plane-ride&highlight=pack+a+board http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/show...atable-Nose-Tail-Guard&highlight=pack+a+board http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?6396-travel-bags&highlight=pack+a+board Just dug these up in a quick search... Look for used bags on craigslist
The last several trips i have taken i did exactly what this guy below did. all of my boards are basicaly between 5'10" and 6"6" so I bought a $60 7'0" funshape day bag, and have traveled quite a few times with one or two shortboard boards like this without any issues, and the day bags are just so much lighter and easier to deal with once you get to where your going:
If your in the DC area i will rent you one of mine. Have soft case that will hold up to two 6'10"s and a hard case that will hold up to 2 6'4"s. If your only taking one board the hard case can also fit a lot of your cloths and wetsuit.
I always used a soft day bag. and then wrapped the rails of the board with pipe insulation from home depot- it works like a charm- use masking tape and wrap it around the whole board to keep the insulation on. buy a bag bigger then your board. for a 6' fish I would get a 6'10 or 7 bag... otherwise you cant add any extra cushion packing material. I have seen them on whiskey militia and on seshday.com for cheap... hard case is the best way to go... but cost $$$$ just pack it well...
i bought a travel coffin for $130 online, brand new. Did the job great for me. Its a 6'8" Komunity double board travel coffin.
I just got back from a couple of weeks in Cabo, picked this one up for my 5'8" quad fish hybrid. Almost indestructible, I was very happy with it. Highly recommended. http://www.thesurfboardwarehouse.co...-surfboard-bag-rhino-double-fishfunboard.aspx I also have a 6'10" Balin Travel Coffin with wheels. It's like a Sherman Tank, but it's crappy for carrying 1 funshape.
My 2 cents, foam or bubble wrap the rails, nose, and tail. Don't put anything else in the bag!. Keep it LIGHT as absolutely possible!! Handlers will be happy and not have to struggle and get pissed off. Or an expensive hard case.
Good point, I have seen them literally drop surf bags from the top of their little carts (8ft) when loading them onto the plane... they just pulled the boards off the top and let them fall... one fell right on the trailer hitch... #Belmar
Would fit easily. I had a 6'0 shortboard, 6'6" step up, all of my clothes, 2 wetsuits, air mattress, toiletries, fins, leashes, etc. it was ridiculous how much I put in that thing.
I wouldn't chance it. On our November trip to PR my buddy put his brand new Mini-Driver into a medium duty bag (better than a day bag, not as thick as a hard core travel bag) with pretty much this same thought. Picked the board up in baggage claim when we got to PR to find the first 7" of nose crushed like they did their best to pile drive it into something. This was with US Airways where he paid $200 EACH WAY....
Anybody know if maybe just shipping it with the local postal service would be better? Ship it to my friends house a week before i go out there just in case of any complications? any thoughts on that?
Ship it Greyhound. Go to their site and they can give you a probable ETA so you can plan accordingly. Probably the cheapest way to ship and they generally treat fragile stuff like it's fragile... they actually need business.
